Community Corner
Dr. Mary Pulido on Child Abuse Prevention and Recovery in Communities Like Bed-Stuy
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
Over the past five years, Bedford-Stuyvesant has given rise to two very high-profile murder cases in which young children have died at the hands of their abusive caregivers: Seven-year-old Nixmary Brown (2006), and 5-year-old .
Both cases have sparked reforms in the city’s Administration for Children Services system and also precipitated a campaign for greater community involvement in the identification and prevention of child abuse.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the time to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect and create strong communities to support women and families.
Find out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In honor of this important month, Dr. Mary Pulido, executive director of The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) – the first child protective agency in the world – has provided Bed-Stuy Patch a one-on-one interview in which she addresses the special child abuse prevention and recovery needs of this community.
In 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Dr. Pulido to the New York City Child Fatality Review Team. Dr. Pulido has worked for many years with troubled youth and seen not only tragedy but incredible triumph and hope for children.
Find out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Bed-Stuy Patch (BSP): What are the risk factors for child abuse?
Dr. Mary Pulido (MP): “Child abuse and neglect happens is in every income level and within every ethnic group. But there are certain risk factors that, when they start to pile on to families, ups the ante for an abusive environment to occur. These factors include financial problems, stress, mental illness, less education and social isolation (if they feel they have no one to turn to).”
BSP: What are the signs you should look for if you suspect someone else’s child is the victim of physical abuse?
MP: “One of the first questions people often want to know is, ‘How do I know if the child was hurt from playing, or if they’re being abused or deliberately harmed?’ Children who are playing skin their hands, knees, elbows, maybe even chin. But they’re scratches. For physical abuse, you’re looking for bruises on the parts of the body where they don’t usually get hurt -- on the cheeks, the necks, the soft spot on the upper arms, even the belly. Both sides of the cheeks is a big sign.
“Bruises change colors when they’re healing. So when you see bruises in different stages of healing, it usually means that child has been hurt more than once. Grip marks on the arms or necks, cigarette burns, sometimes they may be missing hair, cuts in unusual places… all potential signs of abuse. Any injury on an infant warrants further exploration, because babies are completely dependent on their caretakers.
"The other thing to look for in children is behavioral changes, which can run the gamut: Some children lash out aggressively, become angry, defiant, while other children can become withdrawn. Are they afraid to go home? Are they worried? Do they cower if someone just raises their hand in conversation? These types of behavior changes are indicators.
BSP: In the case of Marchella Brett-Pierce, her death seemed to be the result of negligence as much as it was physical abuse. She had an overdose of Claritin in her system, suggesting that her mother was trying to help her to some extent with her asthma problem. How often do you find that neglect factors into cases of child abuse?
MP: “Neglect is another thing which affects NYC families to a big degree. Abuse means that a parent is deliberately doing something to harm a child— it’s non accidental. Neglect, on the other hand, is a parent’s failure to do something for a child— not giving the child what they need. Children who are left home alone, children that are not dressed appropriately for the weather; children who aren’t receiving the medical care they need, that’s neglect. It far outnumbers the cases of sexual and physical abuse. In fact, neglect is probably the biggest reason why cases are called in.
BSP: Sexual abuse also is a huge problem, not only with young children, but also with a lot of our teens here in Bed-Stuy. But it is so much harder to detect. What are some of the things you should look for in a child or teen you suspect may be the victim of sexual abuse?
MP: “The order of what’s most often reported is neglect, then physical, then sexual abuse. There are fewer cases of sexual abuse. But we definitely think that sexual abuse is underreported. It can be anything from non-touching types of offenses like exhibitionists, to fondling, to intercourse, or even using the child for pornography. There’s quite a range with what you’ll see in sexual abuse. The physical indicators are harder to determine, unless the child develops an STD or complains about trouble going to the bathroom.
“Chances are, what you’ll be looking for in sexual abuse is called behavior indicators. It depends upon the age. But it can range from a child going back to bed-wetting or thumb-sucking, to no longer wanting to be alone with an adult that they used to enjoy being with, to them having sexual knowledge well beyond what they should at their age.
“I’m going to say 90 percent of sexual abuse happens with someone the child knows and trusts. You hear it in the news every day – it’s a coach, it’s a teacher, it’s a mother’s boyfriend. Usually someone the child knows.”
BSP: So if someone suspects that a child or teen is the victim of abuse, what should they do?
MP: “Immediately, call the child abuse hotline and report it (Child Abuse Hotline: 800-342-3720).”
BSP: That’s easy to say. And it makes sense. But for a lot of these cases, the child may be a relative. So if the person is not sure about whether the child is in danger, they may be hesitant to call a city agency on their own relative before knowing for sure. People fear unnecessary disruption within their families… Is there another first step a person can take to know for sure, before making the call?
MP: “No. If you suspect a child is in danger, you must call right away. I know that people get really anxious when you have to make a report. But relatives can make the call anonymously. The goal of the agency, in most cases, is not necessarily to have the child removed, but to get help for the child and the family. It’s only if the child is in imminent risk that they’re going to take the child out of the home. Otherwise the goal will be to keep the family together.
“It’s such an important undertaking. You will rest easy knowing that because you made that call, the child will get the help that they need. The important thing is to make the call. If you have that reasonable suspicion, it’s much better to err on the side of the child. If not, the abuse could continue or escalate.”
BSP: Another common occurrence is an aunt or a grandparent suddenly becoming the foster parent of an abused child relative. In these cases, how should the new caregiver prepare his or herself to deal with a formerly abused child?
MP: The foster care agency will assist them in getting therapy for the child and helping the grandparent who wasn’t expecting to be a parent again understand how to deal with the child’s behavior. One of the most important components we do at NYSPCC, beside the therapy, is provide support for the foster parent or grandparent in how to understand when the child’s behavior is escalating or out of control.
“The new parent will need therapy too. The grandparent will need to understand why these behaviors are occurring, it will help them develop coping skills, so the child does not fall back into the behaviors of when he or she was abused, because it’s a process; it takes a while. It’s heroic, taking the children in. But they need support too. What you don’t want is another disruption; a situation where they throw their hands up and say, ‘I can’t deal with this child.’”
"For teens, often sexual abuse damages the kids’ self-esteem. That’s the problem, in order to convince an older child, the perpetrators try to make that child feel guilty; that’s also emotional abuse. But they will need therapy as well."
BSP: Okay, so let’s talk about prevention; what are the best steps to take for early prevention of child abuse?
MP: “The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has developed a successful program called ‘Safe Touches.’ It’s all about body safety, beginning with young children. We have IRB approval by the NYC Department of Education and Hunter College.
"Here are some ways parents can open the conversation of body safety for their children:
#1. You don’t want to scare the child, so explain, ‘It’s my job to keep you safe (framing it around safety instead of abuse), and this is what mommy and daddy need to teach you to keep you safe.
#2. There are two types of touches: ‘safe touches,’ and ‘unsafe touches.’ Then give examples Safe: changing a baby’s diaper, giving a toddler a bath, the doctor or nurse examining you with the mom in the room. Unsafe: Unfortunately, sometimes people that you know or like can try to give you unsafe touches, if it makes you feel confused or sad or uncomfortable, then it becomes unsafe touches, such as trying to put their hands down your pants or up your shirt, trying to give you massages, trying to touch you in the parts of your body covered by your swimsuit.
#3. Explain to the child that it’s probably going to be someone they know or trust
#4. Make sure the child repeats to you what they consider unsafe touches
#5. Give the child the names of four people that he or she can tell, if they experience an “unsafe” touch. The reason why it’s more than just mom and dad, is because if the parents are preoccupied, they may not hear the child. So put other people on that list, and say, “Even if I’m not listening to you, go tell Aunt Josie.”
#6. Always, always, always reinforce that it is not the child’s fault. Tell them, ‘No matter what this person says to you, you have to tell me, my goal is to keep you safe. I want to protect you,’ to take that cloud of guilt away.
BSP: Are there any books, resources you would like to recommend?
MP: "There are so many resources including:
- Child Abuse Hotline 800-342-3720
- Child Abuse New York (24-hour parent help line) 800-342-7472
- The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC.org)
- The New York City Department of Health and Human Services, (877) KIDSNYC
- The Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center, 718-330-5600
- Kings County District Attorney’s Office (Counseling Services Unit), 718-250-3820
“Additionally, David Finkelhor runs The Crimes Against Children Research Center. He has very interesting readings and great resources for children. And of course, if you ever see or hear a child screaming, call 911”
(NYSPCC) is launching its first text-donation campaign, part of its efforts to raise awareness surrounding National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. The campaign allows cell phone users to donate $10 to The NYSPCC by texting NYSPCC to 50555. All proceeds will benefit The NYSPCC and help fund all programs to prevent abuse and help more children and families heal.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.